New Jersey voters approve 56 - 39 percent of the job Barack Obama is doing as President, down
from 61 - 33 percent July 14, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Democrats
approve 89 - 8 percent, but disapproval is 72 - 23 percent among Republicans and 48 - 45
percent among independent voters.

Voters approve 52 - 42 percent of the way President Obama is handling the economy and
51 percent say his economic policies will help the economy, while 35 percent say they will hurt the
economy and 10 percent say they won't make a difference, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-
uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

But only 35 percent of voters say Obama's policies will help their personal financial
situation, while 35 percent say they will hurt and 27 percent say they won't make a difference.

On other questions on the economy, New Jersey voters say:

92 percent that the U.S. economy is "not so good" or "poor;"

91 percent that New Jersey's economy is "not so good" or "poor;"

56 percent that their personal finances are "excellent" or "good," with 42 percent
reporting "not so good" or "poor."

"For President Barack Obama, the bloom is fading in the Garden State as his approval
rating wilts," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The
President still is on the positive side when we ask about his overall job approval and his grades for
handling the economy. But the trend - and that's what you always look at - is heading down."

"The national economy? In the pits. The New Jersey economy? Almost as bad."

Only 23 percent of New Jersey voters say they are better off financially than they were a
year ago, while 52 percent say they are worse off and 24 percent say things are the same.

Things will get better for them in the next 12 months, 39 percent of voters hope, with 12
percent who expect things to get worse and 46 percent who don't expect any change. This is up
from 30 - 15 percent February 5 and the highest confidence level ever measured in New Jersey.

Most New Jersey voters - 59 percent - say the current economic situation causes stress in
their life. The biggest economic concerns are loss of a job or loss of retirement savings, at 19
percent each, followed by healthcare costs, at 17 percent, college tuition at 11 percent and
mortgage or rent payments at 9 percent.

A total of 56 percent of voters are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" that they or
someone in their family will lose their job in the next year or so.

"We're an optimistic crowd in New Jersey. Most of us say our personal economic
fortunes are down from last year. But 85 percent of us think things are looking up, or at least
holding steady," Carroll said.

"Stressed? You bet. We see the business news. And we worry that someone close to us
might lose their job."

From August 5 - 9, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,301 New Jersey registered voters,
with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and
nationally as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed: http://ww.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as
president?